Branding law: Milked to the Max

Sharon Givoni Consulting Food Law, Trade marks

Long gone are the good old days where milk is delivered by horse and cart in unbranded foil top bottles. Today we have brands – and lots of them. Given that brands are the main differentiating feature of fast moving, low involvement products such as food, this article looks at how best to legally protect […]

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Maltesers take on Malt Balls over their packaging

Sharon Givoni Consulting Packaging

Chocolate trade mark case brings no sweet success to Mars in a legal battle involving Maltesers and chocolate “Malt Balls”. The court held that although the packaging of both pictured floating malt balls, Maltesers were so famous in their own right that there was passing off or misleading conduct as no consumer confusion arose. Read […]

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Protecting textile patterns and designs

Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design, Copyright, Retail and fashion Law, Trade marks

If you design or manufacture patterned textiles or fabrics, you need to be careful not to copy other people’s textile designs and find yourself entangled in legal issues. This article talks about copyright and trade mark protection of patterns, trade marks and designs in textiles (including David Jones, Louis Vuitton and Levis). Read more… Note […]

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Brand protection for designers

Sharon Givoni Consulting Retail and fashion Law, Trade marks

While imitation may well be the greatest form of flattery it is certainly not much fun when it is your garment or brand name that is copied by others. In this article Sharon Givoni covers what makes a strong trade mark from a trade marks perspective, some considerations if you expanding your fashion label internationally […]

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Food&Drink Business Magazine – Courts Deny Nestle

Sharon Givoni Consulting Food Law, Trade marks

This article looks at the way Nestle tried to register its four bar chocolate shape as a trade mark and what the trade mark office said when Aldi (which produces its own two bar wafer chocolate called Time Out). Read more…

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Food&Drink Business Magazine – Can you replicate overseas products

Sharon Givoni Consulting Packaging, Trade marks

Many clients ask if they can just simply copy a product and brand from overseas. The answer is not clear cut and depends on the facts including if the overseas mark has been used in Australia as a trade mark. Read more…

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Green Marketing Legal Boundaries

Sharon Givoni Consulting Packaging

Phrases such as “Nature’s friend”, green packaging and recycling symbols are often used to show that a product is green. However there are some traps to avoid under the law when doing this. If you claim that your product is “legally” environmentally friendly you should read this article. Read more…

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Unauthorised Photographs on the Internet

Sharon Givoni Consulting Internet Law

There is no blanket law specifically stopping you from photographing others without their consent. However, specific laws may apply to the situation depending on the context. Read more…

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Ensuring Sweet Success with your Brand

Sharon Givoni Consulting Food Law, Trade marks

In the area of confectionery a trade mark plays a crucial role. This article goes through useful tips you need to know to protect your brand with a whole list of useful tips at the end. Read more…

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Inspiration… or Rip Off?

Sharon Givoni Consulting Arts and design, Copyright

We all get inspirited by one thing or another in life including when we create art works such as drawings and photographs. Madonna got inspired by a famous fashion photographer some years ago when creating one of her video clips and then threatened with legal action. Read more…

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